Ankara has rejected the Greek Cypriot law banning denial of Armenian claims over the 1915 incidents. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said in a statement late on Thursday: "Greek Cyprus's decision is null and void for Turkey and not worthy of comment."

"It is without doubt that those who try to exploit the 1915 incidents at every opportunity by using simple political ambitions cannot get any result," Bilgiç added.

Earlier on Thursday, Greek Cypriot parliament passed into law a bill that criminalizes disavowal of Armenian allegations over the incidents of 1915, what they term as genocide, involving the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Thursday's move by Greek Cyprus, which remains at odds with the Turkish Cyprus over the future of the divided island, came in the very month when Armenia will hold a mass commemoration ceremony in the capital Yerevan to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents on April 24.

The draft bill, which was jointly submitted by all political parties to Greek Cypriot parliament, can impose a penalty five years in prison and fine of ?10,000 on those who deny the Armenian genocide. Vartkes Mahdessian, a lawmaker of Armenian origin in the Greek Cypriot assembly, also announced that a series of events would be organized in Greek Cyprus to mark the 1915 events.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said Armenia would not gain anything from propaganda against Turkey. Armenians will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents, which they term as genocide, on April 24. Armenia also accelerated its efforts in the international arena to convince countries recognize the incidents as genocide. It has, however, received little support thus far. Yet countries like Norway and Australia have said they will not attend the ceremonies in Yerevan and avoided Armenian pressure to officially define the incidents as genocide. "The purpose of this campaign against Turkey is to treat our country as an enemy instead of keeping Armenians' sorrow alive," Erdoğan said as he called on Armenians to study archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian subjects.

The 1915 incidents took place during World War I when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the invading Russians and revolted against the empire. A decision by the Ottoman Empire to forcibly relocate Armenians to eastern Anatolia followed the revolts and there were some Armenian casualties during the relocation process.